Lessons Learned from the SilverTech Internship Program

SilverTech partners with several colleges and universities to fuel our internship program and nurture local technical talent. Every summer, students from around the state and beyond come to SilverTech to contribute new ideas and helping hands as they look to further their education and kickstart their professional careers. Today, we have over a dozen graduates of the SilverTech internship program employed in our Manchester office.

Taylor, SilverTech’s Talent Acquisition Specialist, and Ian, Content Strategist, recently sat down and chatted with two former interns who have gone on to become full-time SilverTech employees, Brady, Digital Strategist, and Jaden, Jr. Systems Administrator. Also joining us was Maddy, the current marketing intern.

Brady and Jaden shared what they learned in the SilverTech internship program and how it prepared them for their careers. They also offered Maddy some advice as she begins to look ahead at her future career path.

Listen to the conversation on the SilverTech podcast above or read the transcript below.

Taylor: Today, we will be discussing our SilverTech Internship program with two previous interns, Brady and Jaden, who have transitioned into full-time roles, and with Maddy, a current intern.

Let’s jump right in!

Brady: Hi, I’m Brady. I’m from Manchester so I’ve grown up with SilverTech right in my backyard. I attended Southern New Hampshire University and I studied Graphic Design and Media Art, which transitioned nicely into a strategy role here. My favorite part about living and working in New Hampshire is that my family is from here. I get to see them whenever I want. I also live seven minutes from work, so I get to sleep in late which is always a nice thing.

Jaden: Hi, I’m Jaden. I’m from Nashua, New Hampshire. I went to the University of New Hampshire, Manchester (UNH Manchester) and studied computer information systems. My favorite part about living in New Hampshire is my ability to attend UNH Manchester and have in-state tuition. It opened a lot of opportunities.

Maddy: Hi, my name is Maddy. I am from Fort Thomas, Kentucky. I am currently going into my third year at the University of Kentucky studying Integrated Strategic Communication, and my favorite part about living in New Hampshire is being close to family because I am from so far away. So, it’s been really nice to able to spend the summer up here with them.

Taylor: When you were looking at potential internship opportunities, what was it about SilverTech that specifically caught your interest?

Maddy: Being so young, I only have two years under my belt going through college, I’m really looking for the best places to be able to grow and learn, and develop new skills that could help me in the future. With SilverTech’s dedication to a growth mindset, I felt like this was definitely the best opportunity for me to be able to do all of those things. Not only that, but when I was going through the interview process, they told me more about company culture as opposed to “SilverTech is successful for this, this, and this reason.” So that part was awesome to me.

Taylor: What does your first month as a SilverTech intern typically look like?

Brady: My first month was kind of a wild ride. I remember talking to my mentor at the time, Sean, and within our first conversation, I was already completely overwhelmed with the amount of words I didn’t know. I actually have a working document that’s titled “Words to Learn”. It’s all part of the fun, but I guess I would say that the first month is really just taking all the information in, analyzing it, and then going full-speed forward with it.

Jaden: It was definitely a lot of information at first. I was also overwhelmed by needing to get to know everyone because as a help desk support agent, you have to know everyone.

Taylor: How would you say your internship here at SilverTech helped you, not only in your career path, but also as an individual preparing to start your first full-time job?

Brady: For me personally, I was in a place when I got this internship that I had no idea what I wanted to do. SilverTech really took me in and adopted me. They really helped me grow, not only just in terms of what we do here at SilverTech in the strategy department, but as an individual. They helped me evolve as a general person of the workforce. I feel so comfortable getting on the phone and talking to my clients whenever I need to or writing emails. Its really just the simple things that you learn over time with practice and guidance of your colleagues.

Jaden: I interned here for about a year before coming on full-time, and I can’t even imagine coming on to a new company without having that internship experience behind me for my first full-time job. I just have so much more confidence and I’m ready to hit the ground running.

Brady: In school, you learn the very technical aspects of what you might be doing after you graduate, but you don’t learn how to interact with colleagues. There’s no class that you take to be a people person. So, I would say that an internship is really like your second major. There were days when I’d go home and spend hours just trying to figure out what I was doing that day.

Ian: I think the important piece that you hit on there is the confidence level that you can’t get when you’re studying something.

Maddy: It’s a good way to get your foot in the door when it comes to the real business world. You may learn all these terms and different things in your classes, but you can’t really compare that to when you’re sitting in an office with people, talking to clients, and learning all these new programs and platforms. I really do think that having that internship before you go into your first full-time job is crucial and so important to becoming a member of the full-time workforce.

Brady: With an internship comes feedback. When you’re doing school work, obviously your professors will give you feedback, but most of the time it’s just you versus you. Your colleagues and your supervisor, they all provide feedback at every step of the way. You’re constantly in-check and you’re always getting either positive or negative feedback. Either way, it helps you to grow within the internship and inevitably outside of that internship in whatever you decide to do afterward.

Taylor: What do you think your favorite part of being an intern here was?

Brady: If I was to go out and brag about my job to anyone, I always start with the culture. The people here are family. They make you feel welcome. They make you feel happy to be at work. Even if it’s such a stressful day at work, I leave knowing that my colleagues were there for me every step of the way.

Jaden: That’s definitely true. I think we have a unique, medium-sized business where you know everyone, and you get to hang out with them after-hours too through work events. It’s very tight-knit and inclusive of new people at the same time. There’s no segregation of new people.

Maddy: Right. Since I’ve only been here for a short amount of time, I’ve noticed walking down the hallway that if somebody doesn’t recognize, which most people don’t at this point, they’ll ask me my name and what my role is here at SilverTech. I really appreciate how interns are so loved here. It makes us feel welcome. Not only that but if I have a question about something, I have the confidence now to go to anybody and ask them for help. I think SilverTech has really helped me in that aspect when it comes to needing to know how to do something. I can ask anybody and they’re more than happy to help me learn.

Taylor: Absolutely. Brady and Jaden, what are you looking forward to most as full-time employees here?

Brady: I’d say what I’m looking forward to most is really starting to identify where I want to go with my career. I feel so grateful every day that I’m beginning my career here. Especially in the strategy department, we do such a realm of different services in the department that I can really start to pick and choose what I really like and identify what I am good at. I can start to venture down my own path and decide if this is what I want to do.

Jaden: I’m definitely excited to take on more responsibilities within the production environment which will, in return, give me a lot of knowledge. I’ve been mostly on internal projects, so I am excited to move to the next level.

Maddy: You are now full-time employees which is super exciting, but I wanted to ask you if you have any advice for me that I could take on within the next two months that I’ll be here?

Brady: Above anything, I’d say be willing to continue learning through the rest of your life. Even after graduation and school, I’m still learning. Every single day I learn something new. School ends, but your capacity to learn never ends.

Jaden: I would say, don’t be afraid to make suggestions whenever you see something that has the potential to be improved. People are very accepting and will say “let’s give that a try!”.

Brady: Also, be willing to fail. If you’re doing everything right, you’re probably not doing enough. Making mistakes and learning from them is inevitably how you grow. And I’ve learned that a lot here. I’ve made so many mistakes!